Data are vital to universal and meaningful digital connectivity. While data volumes have grown exponentially, for many countries reliable statistics on digital connectivity remain surprisingly scant.
To assess progress, data on the deployment and uptake of digital technologies are essential. ITU collects, analyses and disseminates statistics from administrative sources and household surveys conducted by national statistical offices. While much progress has been made in recent years, large data gaps remain, especially on indicators collected from household surveys. These gaps are symptomatic of wider data gaps elsewhere. Unequal development has disadvantaged lower-income countries, which lack the infrastructure, the financial resources, and the skills necessary to produce data and subsequently extract value from them.
Big data, driven by data harvested by technology companies, has attracted much attention and sparked interest in a range of subjects owing to the timeliness and volume of such data. Many organizations, including ITU, are leveraging the potential of big data, particularly from mobile networks and open-source data from social media, crowdsourcing platforms, and online search engines. ITU has devised methodologies for using big data to complement traditional ICT statistics and has carried out pilot projects in several countries. Progress to date is promising, with guidelines prepared on how mobile phone data can be used to measure the information society.
Closing the data gaps is crucial for closing the digital divides and achieving universal connectivity. More and better data are needed to understand and remove the barriers to meaningful connectivity, especially for the marginalized people who are still offline. Data cultures, funding and improving the collection, processing and use of data are integral to development.